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Things To Do

The Best Things To Do In Melbourne This Weekend

2nd Sep 2026
Written by: Urban List Writers
  • best things to do in melbourne this weekend 2026

Consider yourself a matcha lover? Thanks to T2, three cult names from LA, Japan and Korea are landing in Australia exclusively for eight weeks. Get the lowdown here.

Searching for the best things to do in Melbourne/Naarm this weekend? You're in luck. The calendar is always full of top-tier happenings in Melbourne.

Whether it's a foodie find, a magical night market or a street festival, Melbourne is serving up another weekend of fun events and activities. 

Here's everything that's on in Melbourne this weekend. 

Blak & Bright Writers Festival 

Various locations, Melbourne | 3–6 September


Back for its fifth year, Blak & Bright is Australia’s only First Nations led literary festival, and this year it’s bringing its strongest program yet. Across four days and plenty of beautiful venues across Melbourne like the Wheeler Centre, State Library Victoria, Capitol Theatre, and Bard’s Apothecary, the festival closes out on Sunday evening (6 September) at Camp Sovereignty. 

There are so many events, you might have trouble choosing. Our standout is The Right to Offend on Sunday at the Wheeler Centre, which will unite Evelyn Araluen, Melissa Lucashenko, Chelsea Watego, and Tony Armstrong in a discussion on censorship and truth-telling that can’t be missed. For a more poetic experience, check out Friday’s Spokenground at Bard’s Apothecary: a spoken word and poetry night featuring Ziggy Ramo and Ali Cobby Eckermann. Or for something totally unexpected, maybe the Dungeons & Dragons & Damper event is more up your alley, with its live D&D experience built around a story by Claire G. Coleman sure to be one for the history books. 

Plenty of events at Blak & Bright Writers Festival are free, but registration is essential—find the full program here.

Free Vinyl Nights And Cocktails At The Espy

Ghost at The Espy, St Kilda | Friday 4 September, 8–11pm


Image: The Espy | Supplied

Free entry, three dance-filled Friday nights, and DJ Michael Koletas pushing the obvious aside to spin cult classics and hidden gems from his vinyl collection. Get ready for the Johnnie Walker B-Side Sessions at Ghost, The Espy’s low-lit cocktail bar that you’ll find tucked away at the top level of the sprawling venue. These events are a strictly limited run that pairs vinyl with an exclusive cocktail menu.

There are four Johnnie Walker Black Label drinks to choose from: a Kuro Melody with strawberry and orange bitters, a Whisky Track with sake and gingerbread, the sweet-and-sour Ronan Reserve, and a yuzu Vinyl Highball.

Margaret Preston At The NGV

Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne | 4 September 2026–31 January 2027

After seven decades of work and over 200 paintings, prints, and sculptures, the first major retrospective retrospective of Margaret Preston’s career in over 20 years is heading for the NGV’s Ian Potter Centre. Opening in September, this landmark exhibition will chart the full arc of one of Australia’s most influential modern artists. Preston is known for her Post-Impressionist-influenced still lifes of the early 1900s, her expansive landscapes depicting the 1940s, and her characteristically bold woodblock prints that she’s perhaps best known for. 

In addition to Preston’s work, you’ll be able to check out nineteen works by contemporary First Nations artists like world-premiere commissions by Marilyn Russell and Jimmy Frank Jupurrla. This places Preston’s appropriation of Indigenous visual culture in direct and necessary dialogue with the people who have since responded to, interrogated, and reframed it. 

To explore highlight artworks like Flannel flowers, Shoalhaven Gorge, New South Wales, and over 30 woodblock prints

Free KICStudio Classes For Newbies

93 Cubitt St, Cremorne | Saturday, 5 September


Image: KICStudio | Supplied

Laura Henshaw and Steph Claire Smith's KICStudio is offering free classes to all newbies, this Saturday only. 

The Cremorne studio is grounded in somatic movement, an approach that centres conscious movement and leaves performance at the door. It's built entirely around presence and connection, encouraging a deeper and more meaningful approach to health. 

So how can you try it for free? Choose from an 8am Power Pilates, 9am Energise Pilates, 10am Unwind Flow Yoga or 11am Surprise class, and use the code KICCOMMUNITYDAY when booking a class online—it's that easy. 

San Francisco 49ers: Melbourne Foodie Passport

Various Locations, Melbourne | From 5 September

Grace's Elegant Espresso coffee cart
Image credit: Melbourne Foodie Passport | Supplied

The San Francisco 49ers are warming up for Australia’s first NFL game with a very Melbourne pre-match ritual: eating their way around town. Ahead of their clash with the Los Angeles Rams on 11 September, the team’s Melbourne Foodie Passport brings themed bites, player appearances and game-day ticket giveaways to six local spots.

Expect custom doughnuts at American Doughnut Kitchen, 49ers smashburgers at Easey’s, a themed snack menu at Nonna’s House and a team-branded coffee truck at Grace’s Elegant Espresso. Even Bunnings is getting involved, with its Port Melbourne sausage sizzle raising funds for Ripponlea Kindergarten on Saturday 5 September. Meanwhile, Transport Bar in Fed Square becomes the team’s fan HQ for the week.

49ers alumni, mascot Sourdough Sam and the Gold Rush cheerleaders will make appearances throughout the program, with each venue hosting ticket giveaways for the match. Come for the doughnuts, potentially leave with a considerably bigger Friday planned.

Seek The Heat At Peninsula Hot Springs 

Peninsula Hot Springs, Fingal | Until 4 October


Image: Peninsula Hot Springs | Supplied

This grey Melbourne winter weather has us craving warmth and some serious R&R, and a bath at home just isn’t really cutting it. Enter, Peninsula Hot Springs’ Seek the Heat program. Until 4 October, the award-winning geothermal springs will become a full sensory experience after dark that’s designed for serious restorativeness. 

With your general bathing ticket, explore seven chakra-coloured illuminated pools accompanied by original soundscapes from artist Josh Rodyhouse—designed to play through the water itself, rather than just blared overhead—and enjoy colour-immersive saunas for peak relaxation. You can also purchase add-on experiences like aromatic Sauna Infusions and Cacao Rituals.

Supernormal's Six-Week Showcase Of Creative Noodle Dishes

180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne | Until 6 September

Image: Supernormal | Supplied

This weekend marks the last weekend of Supernormal's six-week noodle obsession. Six weeks means six brand-new dishes where each noodle is hand-rolled, steamed, or boiled to perfection. Each dish runs exclusively for one week only alongside the regular Asian-inspired menu. 

The specials range from Shaanxi-style noodles with braised oxtail to tiger prawn egg noodles with smoked roe, and knife-cut wheat noodles with spiced cumin lamb to Dan Dan noodles with Szechuan sesame sauce. The final dish finishes the six-week run with Fujian-style wok-fried crab noodles, and this is the one worth scheduling in. And we can’t forget that every dish also comes with a paired drinks suggestion to ensure you’re dining in style—book via the Supernormal website here.

The Wharf Winter Glasshouses 

18/38 Siddeley St, Docklands | June–September

Image credit: Supplied

The Wharf's beloved Winter Glasshouses have returned to the banks of the Yarra, bringing three private themed dining spaces back to Melbourne for the cooler months. Whether you're planning a date night, birthday celebration or long-overdue catch-up with friends, these cosy glasshouses offer a front-row seat to the river without having to brave the chill.
 
Choose between the bright and blooming Sunflower House, dreamy Starry Night or romantic Scarlet Bloom, then settle in with a hearty two-course feast or a more relaxed grazing spread. If you're looking to elevate the experience, there are optional add-ons including chocolate fondue, wine and gin tasting flights, plus self-guided paint and sip sessions.
 
Running until September, The Wharf's Winter Glasshouses are the kind of winter plan you'll want to lock in before everyone else does. Check it out here.

Celebrate Defiant Love At The Rebel Heart Exhibition

Keith Murdoch Gallery, State Library Victoria | Until 27 January 2027


Image: Rebel Heart | Eugene Hyland

Love doesn’t follow a rulebook, and the State Library Victoria’s latest exhibition is dedicated to the people who throw that book entirely out the window. Rebel Heart: Love Letters and Other Declarations uses the Library’s extensive archive of letters, diaries, and rare manuscripts to share stories of romantic defiance across the ages, from Victorian-era same-sex couples to a mid-century marriage caught in the crossfire of the White Australia policy. 

The high notes of the exhibition include a mourning brooch woven from the hair of pastoralist couple Anne Drysdale and Caroline Newcomb, and the story of bushrangers Captain Moonlight and James Nesbitt after they met in Pentridge Prison. Eventually turning to the present, Rebel Heart explores digital intimacy through mixtapes, DMs, and even AI relationships. 

Check out original music commissions from Angie McMahon, Mindy Meng Wang, Mo’Ju, and Amos Roach, all of which respond to the material on display to add a truly moving layer to the experience. Entry is free, and the exhibition runs until January 2027; find out more here.

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Bubble Planet

62 Dawson St, Brunswick | Ongoing

Image credit: Bubble Planet | Supplied

Lift your spirits: Bubble Planet is floating into Brunswick on 1 April. 

Bubble Planet has already mesmerised more than ten cities around the world—from London to Los Angeles, and New York to Milan—where it’s drawn over five million visitors. How does it work? Well, guests move through a spherical universe via multiple rooms, each featuring surreal, dream-like landscapes and everything from giant inflatables to floating soapy bubbles. Explore the Giant Bubble Dome, where you can relax on huge inflatable clouds while watching meditative animations above, and the continuous illusions of the Infinity Room. 

There are 11 rooms to discover at Bubble Planet (hosted at Fever Melbourne). Visitors of all ages will love the colourful combination of technology, creativity, and the senses in this floor-to-ceiling sensory experience. 

Main image credit: City of Melbourne | Website

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